The life situations and functional capacity of people in physiotherapy and occupational therapy vary greatly. Video appointments are a flexible solution for customers that make rehabilitation easier to access in different situations.
Often, the therapist will first meets the client face-to-face. After they have created the rehabilitation plan with the customer, video appointments can be used for follow-up visits. Customers have welcomed video receptions, and the professionals have also found them useful.
"Remote appointments work well with many different customer groups and are a good addition to physiotherapy services, alongside traditional in-person appointments," says physiotherapist Oona Kuparinen from the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County.
Benefits and flexibility for many customer groups
“Video appointments can benefit customers of various ages in different life situations, which we can certainly notice at Helsinki’s occupational therapy services,” says occupational therapy service head Meri Pekkanen.
It may be difficult to travel to an appointment due to pain or mobility issues, for example. Video calls thus allow customers to participate in therapy from home. Video appointments can also be arranged during the customer's workday, since there is no need to account for travel time.
The experiences of the Vantaa and Kerava wellbeing services county rehabilitation services show that it is easier for young adults to join a video appointment over a in-person one. This can improve the young adults’ commitment to care and make it easier for them to access the necessary services.
In children's rehabilitation, video appointments have been used to assess the motor skills of shy babies, for example. Parents can receive guidance at home, which reduces the baby’s stress of the situation. In the initial talks during a child’s rehabilitation, the video appointments makes it possible for the professional and parents to have an open discussion without the child overhearing things aimed at the adults. Video appointments may also make it easier for both parents to be present.
Monitoring and control of rehabilitation
Video appointments also have benefits for monitoring rehabilitation.
"We can gain more information about the customer's functional capacity and the progress of their rehabilitation with a video call instead of a voice call," says City of Helsinki occupational therapist Inka Petäjäsalo.
It is easier for the therapist to guide the customer in a video call, which improves the quality of the meeting and makes the guidance more understandable.
This article was written in cooperation between the City of Helsinki, the Vantaa and Kerava wellbeing services county and the Western Uusimaa wellbeing services county. The article’s costs are partly covered by EU project funding.
